Page 32 of Generally Hospitable
“I don’t know,” she screamed. “Why are you doing this? What have I done to you to make you hate me? What have I done? Save me before it’s too late. Is that too much to ask?”
I was going to walk away. That was not my mother. It was painful—like ripping my heart from my chest. If I was wrong and it was Lilith, I’d have to live with that until the end of time.
“Fuck me,” I said as I started to sprint toward the light. “Fuck me. Fuck me. Fuck me.”
With every step I took, my mother’s voice grew louder and more desperate. I was getting closer to the light, and to whoever was pretending to be her didn’t want that to happen.
Her scream of terror as I finally entered the room at the end of the hallway was ear-piercing and brutal. She roared like an animal and sounded as if she was dying. At one point, I was sure she called me Cecily Boom. My name was Cecily Bloom. However, ignoring her pleas was the hardest thing I’d ever done.
I’d arrived. There was a door at the end, and it easily opened. As I stepped into another room, the voice stopped. It was a small space, about fifteen by fifteen feet. There were no windows—just a dull flickering lamp and a few hard woodenchairs. It was eerily silent, but the person I’d been searching for was there.
Pandora sat slumped over in one of the chairs. The collar was still around her throat, and the leash was attached. Her palms and knees were bloody. My hatred for Chub Chub Wang increased tenfold. Screw Tiny shitting down his throat and killing him. I would do far worse.
“Pandora,” I said, kneeling down in front of her and gently lifting her chin. “It’s me. I came back for you.”
“Go,” she choked out. “Leave at once, Cecily. He’s coming back, and Phyllis is with him.”
“Nope,” I said, removing the collar and leash. “I’m getting you out of here. Tiny is waiting for you.”
She gave me a weak smile. “Did he bring sushi?”
“I guess we’re going to have to find that out.”
Pandora was pale, gaunt, and barely hanging on. Her gashes weren’t healing properly either, but that made sense. Her magic was barely there. That was something I could solve. I was hopped up on so much magic, I had enough to spare for about a hundred people.
I wished I’d thought to bring the jeweled dagger, but it didn’t matter. I had a spare knife in my boot. It wasn’t a ritual blade, but it would do in a pinch. Without hesitation, I sliced both of our palms and exchanged blood with my counterpart in the Darkness. She was so depleted, I wasn’t sure how much it would help, but something had to be better than nothing.
“You’re a bitch,” she said as the color began to come back to her face.
“And you’re a Stinky Whore,” I shot back affectionately.
“Such a lovely pair we are,” she said with a small smile.
“Are youse though?” Phyllis said from behind me.
My blood ran cold, and the killer Demon in me emerged like she’d never emerged before. Standing up slowly, I turnedaround and faced the diabolical creature who had nothing to lose. I, on the other hand, had everything to lose, which made me even more dangerous.
I smiled. It was icy and didn’t reach my eyes. “That was a nifty trick, using my mom’s voice.”
She took a long pull from the lit cigarette in her hand. “And youse almost fell for it,” she said, practically coughing a lung up. She was a repulsive little troll.
“Where’s your boy toy?” I asked. “Seems like he’d hate to miss this little party.”
“On his way,” Phyllis informed me. “Gettin’ all the weapons he needs to kill youse two.”
“That’s fun,” I said, sitting down in the chair next to Pandora.
“Fireball,”Pandora said in my mind.“Create it. I gave you the ability. It hates to be burned.”
“I can hear youse,” Phyllis groused, tossing her lit butt our way.
“Fine,” Pandora said. “Next time I’ll say it out loud, bitch.”
The Higher Power’s eyes narrowed to slits. It wasn’t pleased with the direction of the conversation. Too bad, so sad. In precaution, Phyllis dropped a protection ward around herself.
Pandora laughed. “Looks like someone is a pussy. Imagine that! The Higher Power is afraid of the two Demon Goddesses.”
I wasn’t sure antagonizing Phyllis would end well, but she didn’t seem as strong as when I’d previously seen her. Maybe, just maybe, she was stronger on her own plane, but not so much on ours. Just as I was about to test my theory, the man of the hour entered the room.
